SPRINGFIELD — Over one year after approving easements for the major “X” reconstruction project, the Springfield City Council unanimously approved an amendment to those land takings after a plan for a roundabout at the intersection of Belmont and Commonwealth avenues was slashed.
DPW Director Chris Cignoli told the council during its Oct. 20 meeting that permanent partial land takings at the CVS and TD Bank parcels on 615-621 Belmont Ave. are no longer needed for the project.
“People representing both TD Bank and the CVS site are in favor of the plan revision, so they are happy with it,” Cignoli said. “So, this just means that we get to do a revision of the plans that have been submitted to MassDOT … and then get [them] submitted to the Registry of Deeds.”
According to the easements document associated with the project, a rotary was initially planned on the CVS parking lot as part of the construction, but because the pharmacy would have lost parking spaces, their representatives requested that the city and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation nix the roundabout idea.
With the council’s approval, there are no rotary plans attached to the “X” project, according to Cignoli, adding that the city will save about $93,000 in damages by taking the CVS rotary away.
“People think that there was going to be one in the middle of the ‘X,’ and I always try to start off by saying no there is not one there,” Cignoli said. “Initially, there was going to be two smaller ones on side streets, [but] neither one of those are there anymore. They’re all gone.”
With the CVS and TD Bank easements now eradicated from the plan, the construction project calls for one permanent partial taking, five permanent easements and 128 temporary construction easements. According to past Reminder Publishing reporting, the “X” construction project is one of the biggest roadway improvement initiatives in Springfield’s history. It officially broke ground earlier this year and is now in the phase of upgrading water, gas and electric utility lines.
The project, which is projected to finish in 2030, encompasses Sumner Avenue at Dickinson Street and Belmont Avenue. Its plans include the addition of transition lanes, new traffic signals and traffic signal coordination; 5-foot bicycle lanes plus widening and reconstruction of sidewalks to shared-use paths; pedestrian facility and accessibility upgrades; as well as replacement of street lighting, furnishings and landscaping.
According to Cignoli, minimal work will be done during Bright Nights weeks.
He said cones and barrels will be set up starting at 3:30 p.m. each day of Bright Nights. After that, the construction workers will be out of the way.
“They’re going [to] be working during the day,” Cignoli said, when speaking on Bright Nights. “We at DPW set up all of the materials for Bright Nights, all the cones barrels [and] barricades. When we go to set that up, they’ll be out of our way.”
Readers can learn more about the “X” construction project by visiting past Reminder Publishing coverage at thereminder.com. The MassDOT Highway Division is overseeing the construction of the entire project.
